Automatic sorting of waste

Abstract

A waste sorting system uses various sensors to automatically determine a type of a piece of waste, and dispense the waste into an appropriate waste bin, such as a recyclable waste bin, or a landfill waste bin. If the system determines that the piece of waste is of a type that is recyclable, it will first determine whether the waste satisfies a recyclability threshold before it deposits the waste into a recyclable waste bin. If the waste does not satisfy the recyclability threshold, the system will direct the piece of waste to a non-recyclable waste bin even if it is of a type that would otherwise be recyclable if it had met the recyclability threshold.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of automatically sorting waste, the method comprising:
 receiving a piece of waste; 
 using a plurality of sensors to determine a plurality of properties associated with the piece of waste, wherein the sensors comprise at least two different sensor types; 
 by a processor, based on at least one of the properties from at least a first one of the sensors, determining if the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material; 
 wherein determining if the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material comprises determining that the piece of waste is not formed of a recyclable material if the processor cannot identify with at least 80% certainty that the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material; 
 if the piece of waste is not formed of a recyclable material, depositing the piece of waste in a non-recyclable waste bin; 
 if the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material, by the processor based on at least a second one of the properties from at least a second one of the sensors, determining if the piece of waste meets or exceeds a recyclability threshold; and 
 if the piece of waste meets or exceeds the recyclability threshold, depositing the piece of waste into the recyclable waste bin, otherwise depositing the piece of waste in a non-recyclable waste bin. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor types comprise two or more of the following: inductance sensors, capacitance sensors, load sensors, cameras, temperature sensors, infrared light sensors, near-infrared light sensors, spectral measurement devices, audio sensors, capacitive sensors, fluorescence sensors, millimeter-wave radar sensors, and depth cameras. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein depositing the piece of waste in the recyclable waste bin comprises:
 identifying the recyclable material; and 
 based on the recyclable material, selecting the recyclable waste bin from a set of candidate bins that include two or more of the following: 
 a recyclable plastics bin, 
 a recyclable paper bin, 
 a recyclable metal bin, 
 a recyclable cloth bin, 
 a recyclable cardboard bin, or 
 a recyclable glass bin. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first one of the sensors comprises a camera; 
 using the sensors to determine a properties associated with the piece of waste comprises using the camera to capture a digital image of the piece of waste, 
 determining if the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material comprises:
 processing the digital image to determine whether content of the digital image corresponds to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object of a data set of known recyclable objects, 
 if the content of the digital image corresponds to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object, classifying the piece of waste as being formed of a recyclable material, and 
 if the content of the digital image does not correspond to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object, classifying the piece of waste as being formed of a non-recyclable material. 
 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein processing the digital image to determine whether content of the digital image corresponds to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object of the data set of known recyclable objects comprises determining whether the content of the digital image includes one or more of the following:
 a logo of a known recyclable object; 
 text of a product name of a known recyclable object; 
 a shape of a known recyclable object; or 
 a color scheme of a known recyclable object. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 4 , wherein:
 classifying the piece of waste as being formed of a recyclable material comprises determining that the type of waste is a liquid container; and 
 determining if the piece of waste meets or exceeds a recyclability threshold comprises using data received from at least one load sensor to determine whether the liquid container meets or exceeds a weight threshold. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 4 , wherein processing the digital image to determine whether content of the digital image corresponds to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object of the data set of known recyclable objects comprises determining whether the content of the digital image includes one or more of the following:
 a logo of a known recyclable object, or 
 text of a product name of a known recyclable object. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first one of the sensors comprises an inductance sensor; and 
 determining if the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material comprises determining whether the inductance sensor indicates that the piece of waste is metallic. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein:
 classifying the piece of waste as being formed of a recyclable material comprises determining that the type of waste is a metallic food or beverage can; and 
 determining if the piece of waste meets or exceeds a recyclability threshold comprises using data received from at least one load sensor to determine whether the can meets or exceeds a weight threshold. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 if the piece of waste is not formed of a recyclable material, depositing the piece of waste in the recyclable waste bin comprises using an actuated sorting department to release the piece of waste to the recyclable waste bin; and 
 if the piece of waste is formed of a non-recyclable material, depositing the piece of waste in the non-recyclable waste bin comprises using the actuated sorting department to release the piece of waste to the non-recyclable waste bin. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein upon determining that the piece of waste is not formed of a recyclable material, the method further comprises:
 determining whether the piece of waste is a compostable material; and 
 if the piece of waste is a compostable material, depositing the piece of waste in a non-recyclable waste bin comprises depositing the piece of waste in a compost waste bin; and 
 if the piece of waste is not a compostable material, depositing the piece of waste in a non-recyclable waste bin comprises depositing the piece of waste in a landfill waste bin. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor types comprise one or more of the following: millimeter-wave radar sensors or depth cameras. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 receiving the piece of waste comprises receiving the piece of waste into an actuated sorting compartment of a waste storage container that includes the recyclable waste bin and the non-recyclable waste bin; 
 using the sensors to determine the plurality of properties associated with the piece of waste comprises doing so while the piece of waste is within the actuated sorting compartment; and 
 depositing the waste into the recyclable waste bin or the non-recyclable waste bin comprises actuating the actuated sorting compartment to move the piece of waste into the recyclable waste bin or the non-recyclable waste bin. 
 
     
     
       14. A waste sorting system, comprising:
 a waste sorting compartment; 
 a plurality of waste bins that include at least a recyclable waste bin and a non-recyclable waste bin; 
 a plurality of sensors that comprise at least two different sensor types; 
 a processor; and 
 a computer-readable medium containing programming instructions that are configured to instruct the processor to:
 upon receipt of a piece of waste into the waste sorting compartment, use data detected by the sensors to determine a plurality of properties associated with the piece of waste, 
 based on at least one of the properties from at least a first one of the sensors, determine whether the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material, 
 wherein the instructions to determine whether the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material comprises instructions to determine that the piece of waste is not formed of a recyclable material if the processor cannot identify with at least 80% certainty that the piece of waste as being formed of a recyclable material, 
 if the piece of waste is not formed of a recyclable material, cause the waste sorting compartment to deposit the piece of waste into a non-recyclable waste bin, 
 if the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material, based on at a second one of the properties from at least a second one of the sensors determine whether the piece of waste meets or exceeds a recyclability threshold, and 
 if the piece of waste meets or exceeds the recyclability threshold, cause the waste sorting compartment to deposit the piece of waste into a recyclable waste bin, otherwise cause the waste sorting compartment to deposit the piece of waste into a non-recyclable waste bin. 
 
 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the sensor types comprise two or more of the following: inductance sensors, capacitance sensors, load sensors, cameras, temperature sensors, infrared light sensors, near-infrared light sensors, spectral measurement devices, audio sensors, capacitive sensors, fluorescence sensors, millimeter-wave radar sensors, and depth cameras. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions to cause the waste sorting compartment to deposit the piece of waste in the recyclable waste bin comprise instructions to:
 identify the recyclable material; and 
 based on the recyclable material, select the recyclable waste bin from a set of candidate bins that include two or more of the following: 
 a recyclable plastics bin, 
 a recyclable paper bin, 
 a recyclable metal bin, 
 a recyclable cloth bin, 
 a recyclable cardboard bin, or 
 a recyclable glass bin. 
 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 14 , wherein:
 the first one of the sensors comprises a camera; 
 the data detected by the sensors comprises a digital image of the piece of waste; and 
 the instructions to determine whether the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material comprise instructions to:
 process the digital image to determine whether content of the digital image corresponds to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object of a data set of known recyclable objects, 
 if the content of the digital image corresponds to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object, classify the piece of waste as being formed of a recyclable material, and 
 if the content of the digital image does not correspond to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object, classify the piece of waste as being formed of a non-recyclable material. 
 
 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the instructions to process the digital image to determine whether content of the digital image corresponds to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object comprises determining whether the content of the digital image includes one or more of the following:
 a logo of a known recyclable object; 
 text of a product name of a known recyclable object; 
 a shape of a known recyclable object; or 
 a color scheme of a known recyclable object. 
 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 17 , further comprising instructions to, when the system determines that the piece of waste is a liquid container, determine if the piece of waste meets or exceeds a recyclability threshold by using data received from at least one load sensor to determine whether the liquid container meets or exceeds a weight threshold. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 17 , wherein the instructions to process the digital image to determine whether content of the digital image corresponds to one or more characteristics of a known recyclable object comprises determining whether the content of the digital image includes one or more of the following:
 a logo of a known recyclable object, or 
 text of a product name of a known recyclable object. 
 
     
     
       21. The system of  claim 14 , wherein:
 the first one of the sensors comprises an inductance sensor; and 
 the instructions to use the plurality of sensors to determine whether the piece of waste is formed of a recyclable material comprise instructions to determine whether the inductance sensor indicates that the piece of waste is metallic. 
 
     
     
       22. The system of  claim 21 , wherein, when the system determines that the type of waste is a metallic food or beverage can, the instructions to determine whether the piece of waste meets or exceeds a recyclability threshold comprise instructions to use data received from at least one load sensor to determine whether the can meets or exceeds a weight threshold. 
     
     
       23. The system of  claim 14 , further comprising additional instructions to, upon determining that the piece of waste is not formed of a recyclable material:
 determine whether the piece of waste is a compostable material; and 
 if the piece of waste is a compostable material, deposit the piece of waste in a non-recyclable waste bin that is a compost waste bin; and 
 if the piece of waste is not a compostable material, deposit the piece of waste in a non-recyclable waste bin that is a landfill waste bin. 
 
     
     
       24. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the sensor types comprise one or more of the following: millimeter-wave radar sensors or depth cameras. 
     
     
       25. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the waste sorting compartment is an actuated sorting compartment that is configured to move the piece of waste into the recyclable waste bin or the non-recyclable waste bin.